Borough staff rehashed food regulations and proper hygiene yesterday with the staff of Hunan Wok, 452 E. College Ave., which was closed for a day last week following a citation for health code violations, borough health officer Mark Henry said.

The restaurant closed Oct. 31 and re-opened the next day. Henry said a health inspector discovered the violations after a routine inspection and the restaurant was closed immediately afterward.

Henry said the violations included food being stored improperly and at improper temperatures and food being prepared on unclean surfaces.

Henry said a health code citation comes with a fine that can range anywhere from $100 to $1,000. A district judge decides the amount of the fine, he added.

Henry said borough staff met with the restaurant's staff yesterday morning and went over food regulations, food handling and proper hygiene. He said an interpreter was present to help explain everything and make sure all the regulations were clear.

"Hopefully this education session will keep this from happening again," Henry said.

He said Hunan Wok has had similar problems in the past year and has been previously cited for similar violations.

The owners of Hunan Wok also own the Fuji and Jade Garden Restaurant, 418 Westerly Pkwy.

Henry said Jing Mei Jiang is the owner of Fuji and Jade and his wife, Chen Jiang, is the owner of Hunan Wok. Henry said Fuji and Jade Garden has been checked for health code violations in the past and has had none.

Henry said citations like this are not very common in the borough but a handful of them do occur every year.

State College Borough Council member Elizabeth Goreham said following standard health practices is vital to public health.

"Recently, people have died from E. coli from improper handling of lettuce," she said. "These violations are not as serious as that, but we take clean food for granted. The only reason we can is by enforcing the ordinances."